Spike anchorage in shoe bottoms



Dec. 29, 1959 J. w. ANDERSON 2,918,733

SPIKE ANCHORAGE 1N SHOE BoTToMs Filed May 3, 1955 is ,D5 1111/11/ n111.7111

Ill/lll] IIIII/ ATTORN EY f3 BY United States Patent O SPIKE ANCHORAGEIN SHOE BOTTOMS John Wiley Anderson, Newton, Conn. Application May 3,1955, Serial No. 505,571

1 Claim. (Cl. 362.5)

Heretofore it has been proposed that each of such spikeshave separateand independent means of mechanical attachment to the leather of theshoe sole although it also has been proposed that a plurality ofmounting sockets receptive to spikes as separate parts be joined at theshoe bottom by a thin plate of sheet steel.

The use of a metal plate for this purpose has proved unsuccessfulparticularly if embedded as an insert within the sole structure of ashoe because it involves an assembly of metallic structures that iscostly and it does not permit the sole leather to flex in all thenecessary various directions with a natural freedom of action. Alsometal in a shoe bottom is objectionable because it is readily conductiveof cold and heat. If of ferrous composition, sheet metal so used isattacked by corrosion and deterioration from moisture soaked up from theground through the leather of the outersole of the shoe. This isparticularly detrimental where, as in the case of sod on a golf courseor football field, the moisture is impregnated with chemical fertilizersthat are damaging to metal. Furthermore sheet metal possesses a graindue to the rolling out process by which it is fabricated and whenincorporated in a shoe bottom it is incapable of warping in fullconformity with the universal flexibility of leather. The contrastbetween the resistance to bending offered by the grained sheet metal andthat offered by the sole leather leads to enforced wrinkling of thelatter. It also promotes bunching of the pliant cork filler commonlyemployed between the insole and outersole of a shoe bottom. The only useof metal in a shoe bottom successfully of which I am aware is itsemployement as a stiff arch brace or shank commonly built into a shoebottom just forward of the heel. So used the metallic shank is usuallyfloated in the body of cork filler so as to be called upon forpractically no iiexure.

An object of the present invention is to overcomethe above mentioneddisadvantages of incorporating sheet metal"in a shoe bottom as part of aspike anchorage structure and yet to retain' the advantages offered byproviding a unitary structure tougher than leather to which all of thespikes in a single shoe may be anchored.

A further object is to provide a unitary anchorage structure of suchnature and relationship to other components and materials of the shoebottom that it can conform in flexing performance with the various`directional lexing of the leather of the shoe sole thus in no way toimpair the comfortable allover feeling of give -characteristic of aspikeless shoe bottom of conventional construction.

A further object is to attain a thorough and allover adhesion of thesurfaces of a plate-like spike anchoring unit to adjoining materials ofthe shoe bottom so that no slippage takes place between the plate andsaid adjoining materials. This avoids wrinkling and the setting up ofvoids in the shoe sole structure even after extensive use involvingrepeated wettings and drying out of the leather of the soles.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will appear in greaterparticular from the following description of a preferred form of theinvention having reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings,wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a golf shoe having a sole structurereceptive to a plurality of replaceable spikes, one of such Spikes beingshown in place.

Fig. 2 is a view taken in section on an upright plane through thelongitudinal center of the shoe showing spike anchorage structureincorporated in the shoe bottom in accordance with the presentinvention.

Fig. 3 is a view taken in section on the plane 3 3 in Fig. 2 looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the spike anchoring unit removed fromthe sole structure of the shoe.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the stitched together edges ofthe upper, the insole and the welt appearing in Figs. 2 and 3 and alsoshows the outersole stitched to the welt to complete the fabrication ofthe shoe.

In the form of the invention herein illustrated internally threadedbosses l2 project from one broadside face of a plate 13 of platsicmaterial which is molded integrally with the bosses 12 and which hasphysical properties such that it can flex in true conformity with allbending that occurs in a shoe bottom of conventional construction. Theplate 13 and bosses 12 form a homogeneous anchorage unit for thedemountable attachment of ground spikes one of which is shown in placein Figs. l and 2.

The outline of plate 13 as delineated in Fig. 4 parallels and fallsinside of the similarly shaped outside boundary of the shoe bottom sothat plate 13 is completely concealed within a cavity formed in the shoebottom between the outersole 14 and the insole 15, both of which solesare preferably but not necessarily of leather. The leather of the insoleis softer than the 'tough leather of the outersole and is covered on itsbottom surface next to the pliant body of cork filler with a coarsefabric 18 to promote allover surface cemented adhesion of the insole tosaid body of filler.

In the cavity between the insole and outersole, atop plate 13 andbeneath the insole 15, the said pliant cushioning ller 16 of soft resinbound cork particles, or of some equivalent squeek preventing,non-drying, heat-insulative cushioning substance, is conned with uniformdistribution. The attachment of the shoe upper 17 to the shoe solestructure is by conventional means best shown in Fig. 5 and hereinaftermore fully discussed.

As in my copending application, Serial No. 440,065, filed lune 29, 1954,now Patent No. 2,784,503, dated March 12, 1957, the exposed outermostface 22 of each boss 12 is provided with ridges 24 and interveninggrooves that radiate from the threaded hole in the boss. An annularsurface on the plug portion 35 of a ground spike 32 faces the bosssurface 22 and carries mating ridges (not herein shown) of shape andsize to match the grooves between ridges 24 on the boss 12. This effectsreleasable interlocking engagement for preventing accidental looseningof the spike as is described in fuller detail in my above said copendingapplication.

The present improvements more particularly concern the structuralcharacteristics and disposition of plate 13 with bosses 12 in thebottoni of the shoe as a built-in component of the sole structure, whichcharacteristics and disposition give rise to a distinctive cooperativeaction of the plate with associated parts of the shoe bottom in responseto exure, moisture, and heat elects encountered in use.

I have discovered that when made of certain materials and incorporatedin a shoe bottom in a certain manner the presence of the plate can becaused to have no perceptible interference with the natural flexingcharacteristic of a conventional shoe bottom. This is in contrast to thehereinbefore mentioned bad results of incorporating a steel plate in theshoe bottom.

The improved results are due in part to a more thorough allover bondingof the plastic plate 13 to the outersole 14 and to the pliable body ofcork ller 16 than has been possible to a steel plate, wherefore allbunching or forcing of the cork filler into uneven distribution in thecavity of the shoe bottom is avoided. The plate 13 is made perforatepreferably by any suitable number of taper sided holes 36, some of whichholes have sides which taper toward one surface of the plate and othersof which holes have sides that taper toward the opposite surface of theplate. In addition, I prefer to roughen or pebble the broadside surfacesofplate 13 sufficiently to promote the cling thereto of a exible bondingcement. The cement will enter and partially or fully occupy and cling tothe taper sided holes 36. To whatever extent the cement fails to llthese holes they will serve to increase the ventilation of theshoebottom as a Whole.

The manner of securing together the edges of an outersole, an insole andan upper, and if desired of a Welt 19, is well understood in the art ofshoe making. One` form thereof is illustrated in Fig. 5 and will need nodetailed description it being clear that the insole, upper, and welt,are sewed together by stitches 20 while the welt and the outersole aresewed together by the stitches 21. Because the limberness of plate 13 isuniform in all directions of flexure, I may rely upon the mechanicalengagement of the bosses 12 with the close fitting holes in theoutersole 14, through which they respectively project, to preventedgewise sliding or non-conforming fiexure of the plate relative to theoutersole 14, but I prefer to cement the top roughened surface of thisperforate plate thoroughly to the body of the cork filler 16.

For attaining the full benefits of this invention, I prefer to make theweb spans of plate 13 between the bosses 12 about thick and to dimentionthe bosses in ,the proportion thereto shown in the drawings. Asuccessful material for plate 13 is resilient molded nylon capable ofbending deflection within its elastic limit from the at to an angle ofat least 30 with the plane of the fiat. Nylon and similar moldedsynthetic thermoplastic resins are found to have physical propertiesvery compatible with leather in exing behavior while tough enough toserve as a sturdy spike anchorage structure. The properties of suchmolded plastics which make them particularly suited to the presentpurpose include relatively light specic gravity, which for nylon moldingcompounds is about 1.14 as against appreciably greater Weight inthermosetting plastics. In comparison with an anchorage suit of the sameshape and size as that herein shown, if made of sheet spring steel andwith the plate 13 made suitably thinner than the nylon plate hereinshown, the steel unit would be at least one pound heavier than the nylonconstruction.

Next there is a relatively'small modulus'of elasticity in terms ofstress per square inch divided by the elongation in one inch caused bysuch stress, which modulus for nylon is about 4.5 as against more thandouble that value and correspondingly less resilience in somethermosetting plastics, wherefore a larger degree of detiective yieldingis sustained at localized spots in the area of the plate without causingpermanent deformation of the plate. There is also possessed a flexuralstrength of about 13,800 pounds per square inch and a surface hardnesssuperior to many other thermoplastics amounting to a hardness of aboutR118 in the-Rockwell testing system. Nylon further has a low rate ofwater absorption amounting to about 1.5 percent in a one-eighth inchthickness of the material after twenty-four hours of exposure. Nylonfurther has particularly good immunity against attack by acid andalkalies.

While I have herein disclosed the best mode of practicing the inventionnow known to me, it is apparent that the principles underlying theseimprovements may be incorporated in many variations from the exactshapes, materials and relative arrangement thereof that have herein beenemployed to teach the invention, wherefore the appended claim aredirected to and intended to cover all substitutes and variations as comewithin a broad interpretation of their terms.

I claim:

In a shoe bottom the combinationv with an outersole containing aperturesand an insole separated from said outersole by an intervening shallowcavity, a homogeneous integral body of nylon, a polymeric carbon amidecomprising a span of resilient web having a broadside face in alloverabutting closeness to said outersole uniformly limber in all directionsof flexure sutliciently thinner than the depth of said cavity to leave acushioning space therein and conforming to said cavity in outline sizeand shape, said body also including hollow bosses interconnected by saidweb projecting from said broadside face thereof and extendingthroughssaid apertures in the outersole and terminating approximatelyflush with the external surface of the outersole thereby to receive andmount in the hollows of said bosses detachable spikes received from theexterior of the shoe, and an amorphous pliant substance sandwichedbetween and bonded in allover surface attachment to said insole and tothe nearest surface of said web and filling said space therebetweenwhereby to resist collapse of said cavity space and to be prevented frombunching responsively to the exing of the shoe bottom.

References Cited in the tile of this patent -UNITED STATES PATENTS1,025,087 Hart L. Apr. 30, 1912 1,391,346 Schwarzer Sept. 20, 19211,602,453 Riddell Oct. 12, 1926 1,894,228 Thoma Jan. 10, 1933 2,049,598Tubbs Aug. 4, 1936 2,049,604 Cristallini Aug. 4, 1936 2,315,874 SabelApr. 6, 1943 2,608,007 Shapiro Aug. 26, 1952 2,745,197 Holt May 15, 1956UNITED STATES PATENT oEEICE r CERTIFICATION OF CORRECTION Patent No.2,918, 733 December 29, 1959 John Wiley Anderson It is hereby certifiedthat error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction andthat the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the grant, line 3 for "Newtony Connecticut," read Newtown,Connecticut M; in the heading to the printed specification,f line 3 for"Newtong Conn. read Newtownv Conni Signed and sealed this 25th day ofApril l9l (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w; SWIDER DAVID L EADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

